Flywheel spanner wrench with tooth engaging abutment



J. A. RIORDAN Oct. 21, 1952 FLYWHEEL SPANNER WRENCH WITH TOOTH ENGAGING ABUTMENT Filed NOV. 25, 1949 'INVENTOR. JOHN A. RIORDAN 4 m ATTORNEYS air/I VII /IAFIIHIIIh-E taken bn line 4-4,

v Patented Oct. 21, 1952 "fI'hisTinventi on relates to mpiovmiie 1n devices 'fonmanu'ally rotating engines and more particularly 'to a tool adapted'to detachably engage the flywheel ring gear thereof.

the assembly and disassembly or'repai rof en 'nes,",'s,uch;fasautomobile engines, it becomes" necessary to rotate the crankshaftftoposition variousfopera'tivie parts. If' the flywheel is readilyfaccessible as it" is" on many types of engines, rotation' offthecrankshait is effe'ctedby 'g'rasp'-' FLYW HEEL SPANNER WRENbIfwiTfif TOOTH ENQ QAB ME S Figure 5 6" is a fragmentary seoti o'nif hand, ,This is objectidiia'ble 'since th'e sharp edges? owing to tight" bearings orother moving parts, theresis often insufficient-leverage available at .Ithe, 'rim 'of the flywheel to rotate it.

Ihe principa1 object o' fthe invention is to provide a tool'whichf'may bereadily' attached and detached to the fly'wheel starter-or ring gear to form a lever by whichthe flywheermay berotatedi 'fici'ent adjustment so that it may be'appli'edto rii'lggears-of various diameters and/or various pitchof teeth thereon.

"A'nfihe'r object is to provide atoolvvith which the flywheel maybe rotatedin either direction afterit has been applied, thereto. I I'. Another. object is to provide a tool which may Ibei applied to or removed. from the ring gear "teth'by a radial movement relative to the flywh 1 v jjlAnother object is topr'ovide a tool in which I certain parts thereof are foldable to reduce its chahids tool kit.

the teeth maycut'the mechanics hands,- andfih cases where the engine is unduly s'tifi "Figure 5 is a 'section 't kflen on line ur l zi l a v x ,linef'dafi Fi'gure 5, showihg the fiyw ee'l'ehaging arms in operative" position;

' Figure 6a is "a similar section showing the arms in another position during the folding of sa'm and .i'

Figurej'is anenlarged detailfof an'nd ne of the arms showing the mannerin fiwhichijit engages a tooth oftlie ring 'gear.

Referring in 1 detail to the drawing; the tool 10 comprises, in generaLj'anelongated shank member ll having'a handle 12 at one end-thereof, alinkage system l3; o'perativelyasso'ciated with the shankmemben 'a pair of arms I4; l4-'a pivotally secured to uppe 'ends'v of the'linkag'e system; and a spring urged-"member 'f5 ihavin'g a, tooth, "engaging mernber I6 thereorpj 1 i v f shank II, as illustrated, is constructedfrom 'a "round piece of bars'tock" which has flattened f 'iAnother' object is to prov de the i061. :withis ufi bulk to thereby. facilitate storage in the m'e-f ilfEurther objects are a provide a tool which siinpleflin construction, has wide versatility v ofuse', may be economicallymanufactured; is. i g'giedin 'jcon'structnm, and eficient in operation;

"Still.furtheiifobjects, advantages, and salient iin"whi 'ch:1f v v Figure, 1 is a side elevation, of the vtool. w c constitutes-the subject of the invention? shown jattachedffto the conventional ring gear provided itermw 'l ,4 'is' an enlarged longitudinal septio Figure 1;

Figure 2 isfla similar,,sideelevatiOn showing the to l in 'foldedrposition}l h 'Figure"3 is -a 'sideelevation as viewed in the ff eati -i e s willbecomelmore apparent irom '& C.Qn-

side-1? ion" offthej description to follow, the ap 'pended claims and the accompanying drawing,

and the 26a; 21a.) p

opposed'sides l'l, I'la, the lower end of the handle havinga circular portion" l 8 which is-pressed 5 into, or otherwise securedfto tubular handle; l2, s theoutfilgsurface of'which'is knurledto-iacilitate i i LR, l

Thejupper end of the shanlf'isfprbvided ia'icircular blind hole [9 which tel'esfcopic allyfreceives a 'plunger20, the upper end-thereof carrying a pin [6 secured at its ends to upstanding flanges 2| 2la, this pinj jforming;the' tooth engaging member previously referred to. fi l spring 22 isdisposed in hole I9, the lower end-thereof abutting the lower surface23 oijthe blihdhole, and thejupper end abutting the 'lowerend of "plunger 20 thus'urging it upwardly. Pliin er 20 is provided with a groove 24- in which s disposed the end'of a screw 25, this screw serving to limit axial movement of" the plunger iri'hole l9 and also preventing rotation there'o I Thelinkage system compriseslihksZG, 21,18 and 29 on one'side of shank I I and links Zfidfifla,

28' and 2911 on the otherside. Linksjfi andjzl are pivoted at their lower ends to; theffshank by. aipin Su -extending through theIshahK, one end of the pin forming a pivot for links 2 6 ,[21 other end forming a'piv'qt, iorflir 'ks The upper ends '0 and links 29, 29a are pivotally conne'ctedbya pin'32. Links 28; 29 and links 280, 29a1resp'ecitively. cross intermediate their ndstanda pin Q33 extendsbetween the links on v opposite sides 7 0f theshank, this pin Sliding: ii! 'a' "34 in 7 tall} connected to the lower ends of .lifnlgsflflfjf28a; j respectively, by a pin 3|." Similarly; nk e21; 'Zlfa the shank. A tension spring 35 extends between pins SI and 32 urging them toward each other.

Arm I4 is pivotally secured near its inner end to links 29, 29a by a pin 36, and arm Ma is similarly secured to links 28, 29c. It will now become apparent that as links 28, 29 and 28a, 29a are moved upwardly or downwardly,pin 33 will move rectilinearly in its guide slot 34 and pins 36, 31 will move in such manner that at any point of adjustment, links 28, 28a will be in the same relative position to the axis of the shank as the corresponding links 29, 290. For example, as pins 36, 31 move downwardly and outwardly these pins will be in the same plane perpendicular to'the axis of the shank and also the same distance from such axis.

Arms 14, Ma are identical and each is curved substantially as shown, the outer ends each having a hooked jaw .31 which engages a ring gear tooth at the root thereof as shown in Figure 7. The inner end of each .arm is provided with an offset' finger 38, the e'n'd of which engages in a .4 1 moving pins 36, 31 downwardly, the upper links are spread apart permitting the ends of the fingers to again be positioned in groove 39.

While only a single embodiment is illustrated, it will become apparent that many modifications are possible within the spirit of the invention. For example,the shank and handle may be made integ1a1 and, if desired, the shank may be formed of square or rectangular stock. The size may also be varied to fit ring gears of any diameter, and if desired this may be attained by merely replacing arms 14, Ma by longer or shorter arms the shape of which is merely modified to properly engage the particular ring gear. Spring 35, while expeditiously disposed in the position illustrated may be otherwise disposed to force the upper ends of the upper links inwardly and upwardly. Many circular groove 39in the shank, the 'fingers being curved at their inner ends as shownb dott'ed lines at 40 to conformto the-curvature of the groove.

When the tool is in a position of non-useit will be apparent that spring 22 .will urge .pin l6 upwardly to its limit, .as' .defined'bygroove 24 and screw 25. Also,lspring 35 will draw pins 31, 32 toward each other until limited by pin 3.3 abutting the upper end of slot 34. ."Io .apply'the tool teeth and jaws 31 engaging'between other teeth spaced about'the periphery. It is to beiobse'rved that since pin 18 may assume difierent positions to the .ring gear the entire tool is merely forced radially into the teeth, pin 1.13 dropping, between outwardly from the upper end ofshank Hland .the jaws .31 vary their positionsoutwardlyfrom' theaxis of shank l I, these jaws and pin [6 will properly engage teeth of ring gears of varying diameterand tooth pitch. Whenengaged on the .ringlgear. the tool willremain thereon. "-If'it'be,

desired to rotate the flywheel by moving handle 12 in the direction of arrow 41, pin 16 forms a fulcrum .point and jaw 31 onarm Ma jformsithe point of application Jof ,force to produce turning of the flywheel. .Simi1ar1y,if the'to'olbe moved in'the' direction-of arrow 4'2, pin- 16 is still the .Iulcrum point but forceis applied tojaw '3'! on the end of arm M. Flanges '21, T2 lcithatare formed on member [5 .aid in preventing slipping of the tool laterally of the ring gear, thesefianges forming abutment's' which engage oppositefs'ide faces of thering-gear teeth. II 1 When it is desiredlto remove the tool 'itis merely Ymoved radially vfrom thefiywheel, which automatically withdrawsjaws I31 andpin l5. 7

When itis des ired'to fold arms P4, 14.0. to the position shown inTFigure 2, they"'a re' .merely grasped by the two hands and forced downwardly. Asshown in Figure 6, the fulcrum of theends of I fingers '38 engaging in :groovej39, moves link-s 28a,

"29a (and corresponding links 28, '29) outwardly 1 from theshank' to a position as shown-in-Figure 6a where the fingersmove 'out'oi groove 39. Theyv are tl'ien folded downwardly, intermediate iporti'ons thereof nestingbetween thefjunctureofthe upper and lower links and resting onpins'3i, 32, as shown in EigureZ. -'When the 'fing'e'rsi'arej'to be again disposed in .operativelrelation 'ingroove 39, they are first movedlto the position .shownin Figure 6a.. By resisting movementoflthesliank .and applying a downward i' forceto'the'arms", thus I other modifications will become apparent within the purview of the invention, and hence the particular illustration is to'be regarded as exemplary only and the invention not limited thereto except as defined by the scopeof the appende'dclaims.

Having described the invention;whatll claim as new is:

1. A device for rotating flywheels of'thetype having a ring gear thereon, comprising; an "elongated vshank'hjaving a handle at one end and an abutment member at the other end adaptedto be disposed between teeth of the gear, said abutment member being mounted to saidshank'for axial adjustment relative'thereto and'beingresiliently urged outwardly 'awayfrom said shank, a linkage systemhaving pivot means "disposed adjacent said other endof theshanklc'onstrained to move to various distances from the axis of'the shank at opposite sides thereof and in thesame perpendicular planes .to said axis, resilientmeans connected between portions .of'the pivot means and urging said pivot means toward a position where the pivot means are closest to said shank, and a pair of -oppositelyextending arms having tooth engaging jaws at their outer ends, each arm being. pivoted near its inner end "to onebi said pivot means.

2. A device in accordance with claiml-including means for moving said jaws to fth'esamerelative positions laterally of the shankaxi-s'jwhen said pivot means'mcve viirtheir path of novement.

3. A device in accordance-with claim 2 memeping meansior detachable 'connecting tl e arms the links of each" pair being disposedpn opposite sideslor the shank 'an'd'extending' laterallyflthe'reto .in opposite directionsfat the samejangle'tdthe shank axis, a, single'pivot securing'the'l'owerend of each link of the set to the shank, ajseconds'et of. substantially identical link comprising' jtwo al'r's, the link of eachipailfjbein'gfdisposed"on o posite sides of the shank" and crossing .same so thatt-he upper and lower endsof the pairSlie-on opposite sides of the shank, pivot. means connecting the outer free endsofeachpairofgthe first set of links with the lower en ofapair of the-second set of links, pivotmeansconnecting. the twopairs o'f'the second'set ofllin'ks'lat a point Twhere they cross the shank, said pivot means being movable axially of the shank, resilient means connected into the linkage and urging the last named pivot means upwardly, a pair of arm having tooth engaging jaws at the outer ends thereof, pivot means securing each arm near itsinner end to the upper ends of a pair of the second set of links,

a groove in said shank adjacent its upperend,

said groove lying substantially in a plane perpendicular to the shank axis, and a finger on the inner end of each arm engaging in the groove.

5. A device in accordance with claim 4 wherein said abutment member is provided with fianges engageable with opposite side faces of the teeth of the gear to prevent lateral movement of the tool when disposed on the gear.

6. A device in accordance with claim 4 wherein said pivot means connecting the two pairs of the second set of links at a point where they cross the shank has sufficient axial movement to permit the fingers on the arms to disengage from said groove, whereby the arms mays be folded downwardly to a position at opposite sides of the shank.

7. A device in accordance with claim 4 wherein said resilient means is a tension spring extending through the shank having its ends connected to the pivot means connecting the outer free ends of each pair of the first set of links-with the lower ends of the second set of links.

8. A device for rotating flywheels of the type having a ring gear thereon, comprising; an elongated shank having a handle at its lower endand an'abutment member at its upper end adapted to be disposed between teeth of the gear, "said-abutment member being mounted to said Shank for axial adjustment relative thereto and being resiliently urged upwardly away from said shank, pivot means disposed adjacent the upper end of the shank constrained to move to various distances from the outer free end of the abutment member at, opposite sides thereof and in the same perpendicular planes to the longitudinal axis of th shank, resilient means connected between portions of the pivot means and urging said pivot means upwardly, a pair of upwardly and outwardly ranging arms disposed on opposite sides of said shank having tooth engaging jaws at their outer ends, each arm being pivoted near its inner of the arms and the shank.

9. A device for rotating flywheel of the type having a ring gear thereon, comprising; an elongated member having a handle at the lower end end mom of said pivot means, and means efiectingiflrpiVOtEll connection between the inner ends thereof, an abutment pivot means disposed adjacent the upper end of the member, means operatively connecting said pivot means to the member for constraining movement of the ivot means to various distances from the outer free end of the abutment member at opposite sides thereof and in the same perpendicularplanes to the longitudinal axis of the member, a pair of arms disposed on opposite sides of said member extending in opposite directions upwardly and outwardly from the pivot means and having tooth engaging jaws at their outer ends, each arm being pivoted near its inner end to one of said pivot means, and resilient means connected between portions of the pivot means for moving said pivot means in a direction to resiliently urge saidjaws toward. each other. f

10. A device in accordance with claim 9 whereinv said means for constraining movement of the pivot means comprises; a first pair of links-pivotally' connected at their inner ends to the shank, and extending outwardly therefrom, a second pair of links pivotally connected to the said member between the ends. thereof, for movement abouta common pivotal axis, the lower end'of each of 'the links of the second pair being pivotally connected to the outer end of one of the links of the first pair. V,

11,;A device in accordance with claim 10 including a slot extending longitudinally of said member between the ends thereof to slidingly receive the pivotal connection between the second pair of links and said member.

12. A device in accordance with claim 9wherein at least aportionof said resilient means is disposed within said member. I v

' JOHN A. RIORDAN.

. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Switzerland H May 16, 1921 device'adjacent the upper Q end thereof adapted to engage teeth of the gear, 

